The End of the Song
by Richard Lawson
Summary: Robert finds himself on dark, rainy roof with the woman he loves. But what comes next?


The End of the Song

by Richard Lawson

---

Robert Phillip pulled away from the kiss and looked deeply into the eyes of the woman sitting next to him. At this moment, three different emotions were swirling about in his head, and he'd never felt any one of them as strongly as he did at this moment.

The first was love. For all his protestations that true love couldn't develop in a matter of days, he felt a need, a desire to spend the rest of his life with Giselle. She was beautiful and wonderful in ways he just couldn't put into words. Most amazing of all was that she loved him, too. That was a miracle of a magnitude he couldn't comprehend.

The second was fear. Living in New York had given Robert a background sense of continuous caution. He liked the city very much, but one had to be careful in how one approached it. For example, young girls shouldn't go running out cab doors at night just to look at a billboard. Robert's heart had literally lurched when Morgan had unbuckled herself and opened the cab door. It was still in his mind to talk to her about how dangerous that was, but he simply couldn't find the will to do so. If Morgan's impulse to help someone in distress hadn't overcome her father's lectures about running off by herself, he would never have met Giselle.

But for all his years of living in New York, he'd never been in physical danger before. His calm and rational mind was having trouble accepting that a large lizard-like creature had grabbed him, climbed to the roof, and then dropped him. Even though Narissa had evidently been vanquished, he was still inches from a deadly drop on a dark, wet, steeply-sloping metal surface. Robert might still die. He had no idea how they were going to get down, and hoped that someone would soon come to rescue them.

The third emotion he felt was guilt. Guilt tempered with doubt. Nancy had seen him bring Giselle back with "True Love's First Kiss". Even though she'd given Robert permission to do so, it had to be tearing her up.

The guilt whispered in Robert's mind. How could he do that to Nancy? Toss aside a five-year relationship to be with a woman he barely knew? Nancy deserved better than that. If he could be so cavalier with his relationship with Nancy, how could he trust his feelings toward Giselle?

All three emotions continued to swirl within him, making it difficult for him to think. He continued to gaze into Giselle's lovely blue eyes, trying to draw certainty from them.

She smiled that gorgeous smile of hers. "How do we get down?"

That seemed an impossibly practical question coming from Giselle. She'd changed in the past three days. Not dramatically, not monumentally, just with a little better understanding of how this world worked. Robert briefly wondered if he would have been able to adjust as quickly to her world if their roles had been reversed.

Putting that thought aside, Robert managed to tear his eyes off Giselle's face and look around. A little above them was an old-fashioned window. The room beyond was dark. Very cautiously Robert reached up, but as he was still sitting he couldn't quite reach it.

"Let me." Giselle rose with a supple grace. Before Robert could utter a protest., she climbed onto the small windowsill. Using the same strength and dexterity she'd exhibited climbing up the building after Narissa, Giselle squatted and did something to the window that Robert couldn't make out from his vantage point. With a screech, he heard the window open. His surprise that the window was unlocked was immediately followed by the realization that people usually didn't try to break into windows that were a hundred stories above the ground.

Giselle climbed in through the window. The she turned around and leaned out, her hand reaching towards him.

Robert couldn't help a self-deprecating smile. Giselle had no fear at all. Meanwhile, he was too terrified to stand. He reached up and grasped her arm, and with her assistance he got through the window. In her arms he could feel the strength of a woman who could throw a sword with enough force and accuracy to pin his sleeve.

Every new discovery about her just seemed to make the love he felt for her grow. Robert stood in the dark room, latched once more onto Giselle's eyes, and began to tremble. He wasn't sure if it was the after-affects of the battle with Narissa or the strength of the love he felt for Giselle. He didn't much care. He kissed her again, and she returned it. Each kiss they'd shared so far had been deeper and longer than the kiss before. There was a whole new world to discover yet with her, and Robert was eagerly looking forward to it.

But as the fear finally subsided within him, the guilt grew. Robert once again broke off the kiss and said softly, "We should get back downstairs. I need to find Nancy."

Giselle's face sobered. "And... and I should talk to Edward."

Robert nodded. They made their way out the door and to the elevators. Robert tightly clutched Giselle's hand, not wanting to ever let her go.

One of the most painful conversations in his life was just ahead of him. And after what he'd gone through with his ex-wife, Robert had made a vow never to put himself through that again. Fortunately Morgan had only been a baby and hadn't had to endure the bitter arguing of her parents.

Part of the reason he'd moved so slowly and cautiously with Nancy was to make absolutely certain that the relationship would be stable enough not to hurt Morgan. He'd tried his best to get Morgan and Nancy to bond, but Morgan had never responded with any enthusiasm. By contrast, she'd seemed to instantly like Giselle, and had even kissed her on the cheek, something she'd never done to Nancy.

Robert hoped that was a good sign. He hoped Morgan would understand what had happened, why he could no longer be with Nancy. The only problem was that Robert couldn't seem to explain it to himself. He couldn't come up with any good reasons why what he'd felt with Giselle after knowing her for three days was stronger than what he felt for Nancy after five years.

The elevator finally arrived. As they stepped into it, Giselle sighed deeply.

Robert instantly focused on her. "What's wrong?"

Giselle looked at him with troubled eyes. "I thought we were at happily ever after. But we're not, are we?"

Robert grimaced. "No. Not yet."

The doors closed and the elevator descended. Giselle looked around, then stood a little straighter. "We'll be there soon, though. Edward and Nancy will understand."

"They will?"

"Yes." Giselle looked at him again. "This is true love. And they're both good people, they know how rare and wonderful it is. They'll be happy for us."

Almost he believed. Giselle's conviction was compelling. But Robert was fairly certain Nancy would be anything but happy. Just the way she'd said, "It's okay" had conveyed the beginnings of a pain that would grew deeper and stronger as the night wore on.

Giselle knew much about the good nature in people, but she was still quite naïve about unpleasant emotions. Robert was certain a reckoning was coming, and hoped Giselle would be able to weather it.

The elevator doors slid open to chaos. The ballroom was filled with firefighters and police. Robert's eyes widened at the gaping hole Narissa had left behind. He fervently hoped no one else had been hurt. His eyes flickered around the room, but all the remaining ball guests that he could see appeared all right. Just a little flummoxed.

"There!" One of the partygoers, an older woman in an extravagant gown, was pointing at them from a short distance away. "There they are!"

Three of the police officers stepped towards Robert and Giselle as they got out of the elevator. One, who looked to be the oldest of the bunch and was probably in charge, spoke gruffly. "Where you two part of this... this play or whatever it was? Care to tell me what happened?"

"Oh!" Giselle released Robert's hand and stepped forward. "Oh, wasn't that terrible! It was all because of Queen Narissa. I didn't know she was that... that wicked!"

"Narissa?" The officer began scribbling on a notepad. "Who is she?"

"She's Prince Edward's stepmother. And, and she didn't want Edward to get married?"

"Prince Edward? Of what, England?"

"No no, Andalasia."

"Where's that?"

"Beyond the Meadows of Joy and the Valley of Contentment." Giselle beamed at the police officer. "It's a lovely place, you should come visit!"

"Now, now wait a minute." The officer shook his head slightly. "Start at the beginning. Who planned this?"

"Oh, no one planned for this to happen. It all just happened. You see, I had a dream a few days ago..."

Robert backed slowly away. No one seemed to notice. They were all caught up in Giselle. Robert had seen this before, in Central Park, where suddenly everyone began dancing and singing a song he was fairly certain Giselle had made up on the spot. This was her gift, her magic: the ability to sweep people away with her enthusiasm and joy.

Robert was deeply grateful for that right now. He needed as much privacy as he could get in a crowded room. Robert began scanning the room, looking around at all the ball gowns.

"She's not here, my lord."

Startled, Robert turned his head. Standing next to him was a heavy man with large jowls and dark, intelligent eyes. Robert tried to remember if he'd heard the man's name before. Nathaniel, he thought Narissa had called him.

Robert also remembered that this man had twice tried to poison Giselle. And yet, paradoxically, he had also helped save her life by defying Narissa and telling everyone of the poison.

Cautiously, Robert replied, "Who's not here?"

"Your Nancy, my lord." Nathaniel wasn't meeting Robert's eyes, instead looking out neutrally at nothing. "She and Prince Edward left a few minutes ago. I think that disagreeable rodent hid himself in Prince Edward's clothes as well."

"Where did they go?"

"To Andalasia, my lord."

"Andalasia!" Robert stared at Nathaniel. "Nancy went to Andalasia?"

"Yes, my lord. I believe she had very little desire to remain here."

Robert swallowed heavily. Of course she wouldn't want to stay, not after seeing him kiss Giselle. That made sense to him. But... "Are you sure?"

"Yes, my lord. They seemed rather happy."

"Happy?" That was impossible to imagine, unless... Realization came to him. "You mean... they eloped?"

"I believe that's the term, yes, my lord."

Robert shook his head. "It can't be. Why would she do that?"

Nathaniel glanced at Robert briefly. "You seem like a man who knows well the hearts of others, my lord. Do you not think they would find a quick and easy solace in each other after what they each went through tonight?"

Robert winced. He had, indeed, seen people do very impulsive things while going through a divorce. And the deeper the pain, the more outlandish the impulses could become. Still, it was difficult to imagine Nancy - calm, level-headed Nancy - would run off with a man she'd only met an hour ago.

These Andalasians. They inspired strange things in the people around them. Robert looked over at Giselle. Someone had put a blanket around her shoulders, but she was still talking with energy and enthusiasm. Her audience had grown - there looked to be a dozen police officers and firefighters around her. Giselle's eyes, Robert noticed for not the first time, were always wide open, giving her a constant look of wonderment. Her audience was responding with rapt bemusement.

"...and then Edward found me! And we arranged to go on a date, and Morgan helped me buy this lovely dress for the ball..."

Robert shook his head and tried to focus his thoughts. "I should go after Nancy. I should talk to her."

"'Should', my lord? That doesn't sound very much like 'want'."

Robert looked in surprise at Nathaniel. "You... you're uncomfortably observant."

A ghost of a smile appeared on Nathaniel's face. "You'd be amazed, my lord, at how blind I can be when it comes to observing my own behavior."

"I think I understand." Robert sighed. "And whether I want to or not, I should go talk to Nancy. Our relationship shouldn't end like this."

"I rather think, my lord, that under the circumstances she felt that she could dictate the terms of your parting. In any event, Prince Edward carried the way home with him. When he left, the door closed behind him."

"Oh." Robert looked down at the floor and digested that bit of information. So Nancy had put herself forever beyond his - or anyone else's - reach. She had no family, no obligations other than her job. And truly, he understood that she wouldn't want to see him after what he'd done to her.

But still, it hurt. As hypocritical as it sounded, it hurt to know she had left forever without saying goodbye. Robert grimly shook his head; so often he'd observed similar behavior in his divorce clients, so often hating their spouses and still wanting to be with them at the same time. People were quite capable of holding completely contradictory feelings at the same time. Robert had thought himself above that, but reality was proving him wrong.

He couldn't hold any anger towards Nancy, not after what he'd done. At the same time, he felt his guilt easing. They'd both done not-so-nice things to each other, and perhaps there was a point where recriminations should fade way and they should simply try and feel happy for each other.

Robert thought that over, and believed that in time it would be true.

"Goodbye Nancy," he said softly. Then he looked up at Nathaniel, and a thought struck him. "But... doesn't that mean you're stuck here as well?"

"Forgive me, my lord, but I would not phrase it that way. Rather, I would say that I chose to remain here."

"Oh?" Robert studied Nathaniel. So far, the Andalasian had shown no strong emotions and had spoken in a soft, even tone of voice. Robert wondered if Nathaniel was on the far side of a strong emotional reaction. Or building up to one. "Why?"

Nathaniel sighed. "My lord, I spent many years in Andalasia working myself into a position where I could serve my Queen. It was hard work, and Queen Narissa proved to be a... difficult person to work for. But I excelled at it, my lord, so much so that I quickly became her favorite."

He looked over at Robert, and for the first time some pain showed on his features. "I thought I was becoming her favorite... person. Her favorite man. What I actually became was her favorite lackey. My lord, have you ever spent years of your live striving for something, only to find that once you obtained it you didn't really enjoy the achievement?"

Unbidden, the memory of Robert's ex-wife flashed through his head. The years he'd spent courting her, only to find that actually being married to her had made them both miserable. If not for Morgan, he would have thought his entire relationship with her to be completely wasted. "I... I think I know what that feels like."

Nathaniel studied his expression, then nodded. "Yes, I believe you do. Then you'll also understand why I'd want to start all over. My opportunities in Andalasia would be quite limited but here..." Nathaniel's eyes shone. "Here, in this marvelous city, many opportunities abound. I can... make something of myself. And I won't need to become anybody's lackey to do so."

Robert smiled. "That's very true. I have no doubt that you'll be able to succeed at anything you do."

Nathaniel bowed his head slightly. "Thank you for saying so, my lord."

"Do you need a place to stay tonight? You can sleep at my place."

"I thank you for the generous offer, my lord, but I have a hotel room already."

Robert blinked. Nathaniel had managed to adapt even more quickly than Giselle. Robert reached inside his costume jacket and pulled out his wallet. "You'll need to establish an identity for yourself. I can try and help with that. Take my business card. Do you know how to use a telephone?"

"Yes, my lord," Nathaniel said somewhat drily. He took the business card and held it almost daintily. He looked up at Robert, a strange expression on his face. "You are willing to help me? After all I've done?"

Robert smiled. "After you what? Exposed Narissa for who she really was, saving her life and probably Edward's as well?" He clapped Nathaniel on the arm. "You're a good man. I'd be proud to help you."

Nathaniel didn't look like he knew what to say. He bowed deeply. "My lord."

"Look, why don't you stop calling me that? My name's Robert. I'm nobody's lord."

Nathaniel straightened and looked at Robert thoughtfully. "One thing I've come to realize over these past few days, and that is nobility is not a birthright. It is something you earn. It is something you are. Narissa married her way to the throne, then lost whatever nobility she had in attempting to keep the throne. In the end, she was nobody's Queen. Not even mine."

Nathaniel looked across the room. "Now, consider my lady Giselle."

Robert looked over. It appeared as if the questions were coming to an end. More and more people were leaving the ballroom, including the police and fire people. The one older police officer was still talking to Giselle, who was now giving him Robert's home address, as far as she knew it. Robert wondered what story would get filed by the police. Most likely they were still dazzled by her, but by the time they returned to the station they would realize how silly Giselle's story would sound and would likely attribute the damage to a cosplay gone bad. The reports of a giant lizard that plummeted off the building would die away, and everyone would laugh at what mass hysteria could convince people of.

Giselle was now using the blanket to finish drying her hair off. She was still smiling at the police officer, who looked a bit schoolboyish in her presence now that his questioning was done.

Nathaniel's soft voice drifted from nearby. "My lady Giselle is kind, generous, sympathetic, trusting, brave, warm, and friendly. She is, in every sense of the word except the literal, a princess."

I think she might be a real princess. Robert chuckled once, Morgan's words suddenly clear in his head. Morgan had been right. Giselle represented everything that was best about being good and noble.

Nathaniel's voice continued, a bit more softly now. "And, my lord, she would not fall in love with anyone other than a true prince."

Robert whipped his head around, startled, but Nathaniel was gone. Like any good seneschal, he had known exactly when to make a discreet withdrawal. Robert smiled to himself; Nathaniel would be just fine in this world, of that he was certain.

With a deep sigh, Robert looked out the gaping hole in the wall, to New York beyond. His emotions had managed to settle down a bit. Whatever he'd had with Nancy was over, they had both firmly closed the door on that relationship. Robert was certain he'd still feel deep twinges of guilt for a long time to come, but the worst was over.

A hand gently clasped his. "How are you doing, Robert?"

A smile found its way to his face and took up semi-permanent residence. He turned to look at Giselle. And the love came surging forth, as strong as ever but no longer frightening. This was good, this was right.

"I'm all right now," he said with as firm a voice as he could manage. "I had a good talk with Nathaniel. He's staying."

"Oh. Oh, that's good." Giselle looked quickly around the ballroom. "Have you seen Edward?"

"No. He and Nancy went back to Andalaysia together."

Giselle looked back at him, her eyes wider than usual. Her voice was excited. "They did? Together?"

Robert couldn't help laughing. After what must have been an emotionally exhausting day for Giselle, she still had endless enthusiasm, could still exhibit unbridled joy. "Yes. Along with Pip."

"Oh, that's wonderful!" Giselle was practically bouncing on her feet. "I am so glad they found each other, they both deserve true love."

"Yes. Yes, they do." Robert paused. With Nancy he had set firm boundaries, not wanting to expose Morgan to issues beyond her maturity. His too-rational mind was already racing with issues about establishing an identity for Giselle, getting her a Social Security Number, finding work for her. And all this danced around the issue that needed answering right now: where would Giselle sleep?

The couch, his mind told him. His heart, however, had other ideas.

Robert found a strange kind of peace settling over him. They had time to work this out. All the time in the world. Right here and now, though, all that mattered was the Giselle was here, with him.

Almost without conscious thought, he leaned towards Giselle. She instantly leaned in towards him as well and they kissed. This one was softer, more tender, almost like the first kiss he'd given her except that she was kissing him back this time.

Far too soon they broke it off. He wanted it to go on longer, but every minute they stayed here increased the chances that someone would start to wonder about Giselle and the story she'd told. Robert looked around, but no one was looking their way. "Let's get out of here."

Giselle nodded. They had never stopped holding hands and gently he led her to the elevators.

The last of his lingering doubts vanished. Robert had never felt this good, not with his ex-wife, not with Nancy. This feeling had brought Giselle back to life. It simply had to be true love.

Robert found his voice huskier than he intended. "I think it's beginning now."

Giselle looked up at him, her smile wide. "Forever and ever?"

Of course not. Robert had seen too many marriages break up, too many seemingly-firm relationships fall apart to believe in happily ever after. It was that knowledge - cynical, perhaps, but realistic - that had helped him resist Giselle's song in Central Park, refusing to be caught up when everyone else was singing and dancing. Because he'd known that the song would come to an end.

And yet, up here in the ballroom, he had sung to her. Giselle's song hadn't truly ended, it had simply subsided until it could find new expression. Her song would always come back. That's what forever meant.

"Yes," he found himself saying. "I will love you forever."

"Oh Robert." She pulled him in and hugged him tightly. "Thank you for saving me."

He chuckled softly. "I thought you saved me."

"We saved each other." Giselle pulled away slightly, looked up at him. "Your love sent me a dream and brought me here. I'll love you always because of that."

Robert didn't think it possible that his love for her could grow any more but it did. As he tried to find a way to reply, the elevator doors slid open again. Suddenly he knew what to do. "Let's go home and tell Morgan."

"Home." Giselle's voice was full of wonderment. And joy. She grinned, her eyes wet. "Yes, let's go home. Morgan will be so happy."

Robert grinned back. "She won't be the only one."

Giselle laughed and pulled him into the elevator. Robert willingly followed, eager to begin happily ever after.

* * *


End file.
